Chinese American Patent Attorney Otto Lee Is Candidate For Sunnyvale
City Council
July 10, 2003, World Journal
Otto Lee, a registered Patent Attorney, who has served on the Sunnyvale Planning Commission for the
past five years, is the first Chinese American to run for Sunnyvale City Council since Paul Fong's
run in the 1970s. Otto is running for open seat # 5, which is currently served by the Hon. Manny
Valerio. Another Chinese American, Dean Chu, is running for City Council open seat #4.
Otto Lee, who immigrated from Hong Kong when he was 15 years old, currently serves on Sunnyvale's
Planning Commission. He said, "Developing Sunnyvale's city center is the most important part of the
city's plan." He further explained, "In fact, Sunnyvale is not a small city. Compared to Cupertino,
we have a larger population, at about 130,000 residents. We can see on the map that Sunnyvale is in
the center of Silicon Valley, which brings us a great advantage of location."
Otto Lee said, "It is required by state law that every city shall continue to increase the amount of
available housing every year. However, many people are also concerned about the negative effects
that this will have on their lives; for example, they may be affected by more and more development
and traffic." He explained, "The trend of expansion is unavoidable, but the City Planning Commission
has also taken the effect on the quality of life of the community into consideration while expanding
the city.
He takes the outdated Shopping Center of Sunnyvale City Center as an example of poor city planning.
"The Shopping Center declared bankruptcy last year, and was taken over by a construction and
commercial loan company. The reconstruction plan has been approved by the City Council, and is ready
to be executed after recovery of the city's economy. The necessity for reconstruction is due to its
outdated design. For example, its parking lot is right against the main entrance, which makes it
less attractive than other shopping centers.
"Another important factor of city planning is the proposed use of facilities. For example, if we set
up a theater, you need to consider its purpose - is it open to the family, or for young adults? I
believe most of the Sunnyvale residents prefer a commercially attractive city center."
He also pointed out, "the diverse culture of Sunnyvale is a very important factor for its future.
Different ethnic groups may foster more understanding of each other through education, so that
existing residents and new immigrants alike will benefit from change rather than fear the
continually-evolving community environment.
A fundraising party for Otto Lee will be held in Sunnyvale on July 19, 2003. Please call
408-736-4713 for more information.
